Free NCLEX-PN practice questions
The questions below are written for the practical nurse exam and answerable on this page with no account. Each is mapped to one of the eight Client Needs categories in the 2026 NCLEX-PN test plan, and each comes with a rationale for every option. Start with Coordinated Care, the largest category, then drill the one you are weakest in.
Updated October 2026
Section 1
Coordinated Care, the largest category
Answer, check, and read why each option wins or loses.
NCLEX-PN · Coordinated Care
1 of 5A practical nurse working in a long-term care facility is organizing the morning assignment for unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP). The unit has four residents with varying needs. Which task is appropriate for the practical nurse to assign to the UAP?
Rationale
Measuring and recording urinary output for a stable resident with an indwelling catheter is a routine, non-assessment task with a predictable outcome that falls within UAP scope under LPN/LVN supervision. All five rights of delegation are met: the task is routine, no complex nursing judgment is required, and the client is stable. Option A: Evaluating the effectiveness of a care intervention requires clinical assessment and judgment; this is a nursing function that cannot be delegated to UAP. Option B: Reinforcing education requires nursing knowledge to verify comprehension and correct misunderstandings; this is a nursing function, not a UAP task. Option D: Performing a skin assessment, especially on a newly admitted resident with an existing pressure injury, requires clinical nursing judgment and is not within UAP scope.
Answer: C
A practical nurse at an outpatient surgery center is completing pre-procedure preparation for a 70-year-old client scheduled for a colonoscopy. The client has signed the informed consent form but tells the nurse, "The doctor went through everything very fast. I still don't really understand what they're going to do or what could go wrong." What is the most appropriate action by the practical nurse?
Rationale
Informed consent requires that the client understands the procedure, its purpose, potential risks, and alternatives. When a client expresses that they do not understand despite having signed the form, the practical nurse advocates for the client by notifying the provider so that adequate informed consent can be obtained before the procedure proceeds. Option A: A signed form alone does not constitute valid informed consent if the client did not understand what they signed; the client retains the right to have questions answered before the procedure. Option B: Dismissing the client's concerns and proceeding does not ensure informed consent and fails to advocate for the client's right to understand their care. Option C: Providing detailed explanations of a surgical procedure's risks and alternatives is the provider's responsibility; the LPN/LVN does not obtain or re-obtain informed consent.
Answer: D
A practical nurse on a pediatric unit is assigned to administer a scheduled nasogastric (NG) tube feeding to an 8-year-old client. The PN has not performed this skill since orientation several months ago and is uncertain about the correct steps to verify tube placement at the bedside before initiating the feeding. What is the most appropriate action for the practical nurse?
Rationale
Recognizing personal skill limitations and seeking assistance before performing an infrequently practiced procedure is both a safety standard and a professional practice expectation for the LPN/LVN. Notifying the charge nurse and requesting supervision or a skills review before initiating the feeding protects the client from potential complications such as aspiration from an unverified tube position. Option A: Proceeding without confirmed knowledge of proper tube placement verification risks administering feeding into the lungs, which can cause aspiration pneumonia or death. Option B: Parent report is not a clinically acceptable method for verifying NG tube placement; placement must be confirmed by established clinical methods prior to each feeding. Option D: Refusing the assignment without notification abandons the client and is professionally inappropriate; the correct response is to seek assistance, not to refuse and walk away.
Answer: C
A practical nurse is caring for a 45-year-old client with newly diagnosed hypertension at an outpatient primary care clinic. The client states, 'My doctor just added a second blood pressure medication, but I was too nervous to ask why during the appointment. I guess I just have to accept it.' Which response by the practical nurse best promotes client self-advocacy?
Rationale
Encouraging the client to write down questions and ask the provider directly empowers the client to speak up for themselves, which is the core of self-advocacy. It builds communication skills and confidence rather than creating dependence on the nurse as an intermediary. Option A: Telling the client to simply trust the provider discourages the client from asking questions and undermines their right to be informed and actively involved in their own care. Option B: Explaining the medication change removes the opportunity for the client to engage directly with their provider and does not build the self-advocacy skills needed for ongoing management of a chronic condition. Option C: Contacting the provider on the client's behalf does not promote self-advocacy; it reinforces dependence on others to speak for the client rather than building the client's own capacity to communicate with the care team.
Answer: D
A practical nurse working on a medical-surgical unit has been asked to participate in a unit-based quality improvement (QI) initiative aimed at reducing the incidence of client falls. Which actions are appropriate for the practical nurse to take as part of this QI activity? Select all that apply.
Rationale
Collecting and documenting fall data (A) is a core PN contribution to QI data gathering. Reporting data to the charge nurse (E) keeps the interdisciplinary team informed. Attending QI committee meetings and sharing observations (D) is an appropriate participatory role for the PN. Communicating environmental hazards (F) supports proactive safety improvement and is within PN scope. Option B: Independently rewriting a unit protocol is outside PN scope; protocol revision requires RN, advanced practice, and leadership involvement. Option C: Implementing a new monitoring schedule without RN oversight exceeds PN independent authority; changes to unit workflows require direction from the RN or leadership.
Answer: A, D, E, F
Section 2
Practice questions by category
The share of the exam beside each one is the range NCSBN publishes in the 2026 test plan.
Safe and Effective Care Environment
Health Promotion and Maintenance
Psychosocial Integrity
Physiological Integrity
Basic Care and Comfort
Mobility, nutrition, enteral tubes, nonpharmacological pain relief, sleep, ADLs.
Pharmacological Therapies
Rights of administration, routes, IV flow rates, transfusions, reactions.
Reduction of Risk Potential
Vital signs, labs, specimens, NG tubes, ECGs, assisting with procedures.
Physiological Adaptation
Acute and chronic illness, drains, wound care, ventilators, pacemakers, emergencies.
Section 3
What the questions are practising for
The NCLEX-PN is computer adaptive. You answer between 85 and 150 items in up to 5 hours, breaks included, and the exam ends when it can decide pass or fail. Each item is chosen to match your ability so far, and from a category the plan still needs.
Clinical judgment is tested two ways: in case studies, where six items follow one client, and in stand-alone clinical judgment items. Our guide to the 2026 NCLEX-PN test plan breaks down every category and how a minimum-length exam is built. If you are choosing between exams, NCLEX-PN vs NCLEX-RN covers the differences.
Section 4
How to get the most from practice questions
- Read every rationale, including the ones you got right. A lucky guess is a miss you have not met yet.
- Spend the most time where the exam does. Coordinated Care is the biggest category, and most of it is scope of practice: what the practical nurse does, reports, or assigns.
- Mix categories once the basics hold. The real exam never tells you which category an item belongs to.
- Write down why you missed it. Misread the stem, did not know the fact, or picked an action outside PN scope: each has a different fix.
To plan the weeks before the exam, see the NCLEX-PN study plan and the NCLEX-PN study guide. For a longer run, try the free LPN practice test.
FAQ
NCLEX-PN practice question FAQ
How many questions are on the NCLEX-PN?
Between 85 and 150. The exam is computer adaptive, so it stops once it can decide pass or fail. You have up to 5 hours, and that time includes breaks.
What topics are on the NCLEX-PN?
Eight Client Needs categories. Coordinated Care is the largest at 18 to 24% of items. The others are Safety and Infection Prevention and Control, Health Promotion and Maintenance, Psychosocial Integrity, Basic Care and Comfort, Pharmacological Therapies, Reduction of Risk Potential, and Physiological Adaptation.
Are these NCLEX-PN practice questions free?
Yes. Every question on these pages is free to answer, with a rationale for each option. A free Nursia account opens the Coordinated Care questions in the app.
Does the number of questions tell you if you passed?
No. NCSBN states that the length of your exam is not an indication of a pass or fail result. You can pass or fail at any length.
How is the NCLEX-PN scored?
Pass or fail. After each answer the computer re-estimates your ability and picks the next item to match. To pass you must perform at or above the passing standard. There is no fixed percentage of candidates who pass.
How much does the NCLEX-PN cost?
The registration fee is $200. It rises to $350 for registrations made on or after February 1, 2027. The exam date does not change the fee; the registration date does.
Practise for the NCLEX-PN free.
Answer NCLEX-PN practice questions, read the rationale on every option, and see which category needs work.
Free NCLEX-PN practice questions with rationales